Endings
by Foxy the Pirate Animatronic
Summary: Everything must end at some point. Even dragon and rider. And Hiccup will make sure Toothless will be happy even when he is gone.
1. Chapter 1: Let Him Fly

Hiccup sat in the field of grass, lying upon Toothless' side as he watched the clouds float by.

His sketchbook lay askew in his lap, dropped next to his charcoal. The dragon's side was cool, in comparison to the hot day. Emerald grass tickled him as he lay there. Perfectly content.

It had been 63 years to this date since he had become chief. Yet nothing felt different from that time long ago.

His beard was long and somewhat thin, braided at the ends into twists. It was a lighter gray, like the tops of storm clouds at dawn's break. The same hair went down his head from underneath his Mom's Viking helmet, thin like small wires that happened to be tangled together. He was wearing Stoick's cape, one of the only things he had left of his father. It was warm and worn, probably had too many washes in it. But it was his, so he kept it had on some metal shoulderpads, and a green shirt that tucked into his dirt brown pants. His dark boot only went up a bit past his ankle. Metal prosthetic leg was beginning to rust slightly, and he reminded himself to clean it later. It would be very problematic if it broke. Beside him in the grass lay a long stick of wood, knarled and smoothed on top from constant touch. Hiccup hated calling it his cane, it was just his helping hand.

Toothless fidgeted slightly, but stayed relatively still, looking about at everything around them. He managed to keep the movement slow enough that it didn't shift the chiefton around too much. The dragon fidgeted slightly with his paws, getting tired of sitting in the same place for such a long time.

He did want to spend time with his rider, he just needed to get some extra energy out. He looked down at the chiefton, watching him as he looked up at the clouds peacefully. The Night Fury looked up as well, gazing into them to try and figure out what was so interesting about them.

The moisture on his scales, as his wings carried through the wind on the soft caress of a warm thermal and a couple of wing beats. That was what real freedom was like, wasn't it? Only if he could touch it.

He grunted to himself, tearing away his gaze quickly and glancing at his tail.

It hadn't been upgraded all that much since Hiccup was busy being chief. It was a good working design that was sturdy enough that only occasionally it broke. His rider always made time to fix his tail if it ever broke. Even though he never really used it anymore…

The red design was still on it, bright and stark. IF only he could…

Toothless ground his teeth lightly, trying to pull his thoughts away from the subject. He looked away, further into the fields of green grass they were laying in.

It was on another nearby island that they had found long ago. The dragon couldn't quite recall the name that they had picked. Well, Hiccup picked since he couldn't really communicate his idea to anyone except the other dragons. The name didn't matter anyways.

The island was rather small and squat, only holding the field they were in and a bit of sparse forest to the side. There weren't any dragons that stayed on the island, since there wasn't anything to eat on it except birds and bugs. And no dragon wanted to stay on a diet of birds and insects if they could just fly over to a neighboring island.

Unless they couldn't fly.

Toothless had to shake the thoughts out of his mind again. They rung so true it hurt. But Toothless barely ever flew anymore. Of course there had been the flight over to here. But that had been a minute tops and Hiccup was already in pain.

Of course the dragon understood his rider could only take small bursts of flying. And those would land him in deep arthritic pain that had his hips deciding to host a small rebellion with the spine joining in. But it still hurt him too.

Hiccup noticed the dragon's slight agitation, and patted him lightly on the head to calm him down. Toothless pressed into his touch somewhat, purring happily.

Hiccup always knew how to make him feel better.

The chief knew that Toothless wanted to fly more. But it was impossible. He was getting older, and regrettably it was harder to be able to fly with his friend even though he wanted too. If only there was some way that he could fly again…

With a sigh of small defeat, Hiccup grabbed his helping hand and slowly got up. His bones creaked slightly, popping into place from being so still for so long. He stretched out a bit, hearing his spine settle back into place.

Toothless stood up along with him, giving him his side for more support as the older man stretched out all his tensed muscles.

After a bit, Hiccup slowly got onto the dragon, leaning forward and clicking the prosthetic into its piece.

With a small woosh, the dragon gave a big flap of his wings, ascending quickly into the sky. Shooting out into the outer reaches of the clouds.

Toothless was exhilarated, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as the wind bent around him like an old friend. The clouds tickled the top of his head, the moisture clinging to his obsidian scales tightly like a hug. Another wingbeat and they were above the clouds, sailing above the world oblivious to the things below. The sun their only guide and Hiccup's map. But Toothless set it out of his mind because they were free.

It was over too quickly, dropping through the clouds to show the quaint isle of Berk. Toothless bit back any sound of complaint of returning back to the cage. To not fly until Hiccup wasn't so busy.

Hiccup had been thinking most of the ride, about how he could get Toothless into the sky once more. So he could be free like a dragon once again. There were a lot of problems with that though. Chiefly the loss of part of Toothless' tail. The prosthetic he had on his tail was great in many ways, but it couldn't be operated solely. It had to have some form of direction or command by a third party, namely him. But there had to be some way to get the dragon off the ground. Because that half of his tail wasn't going to grow back by itself. It would still need some form of prosthetic that Toothless could work by himself.

They landed back on Berk near the town hall, and Hiccup nodded to the Night Fury and gave him a pat on the head. He slowly slid off, unattaching his helping hand from the side of the saddle. He slowly hobbled away from the dragon, and repeated some stretches as his hips decided to attempt mutiny. He cursed his old bones silently as the dragon watched him carefully. Since the one time Hiccup had fallen over while Toothless had idled off somewhere else. Now he stayed so it didn't happen again. He'd rather not have his rider even more broken than he already is.

Hiccup finished, his bones still rather not happy with him. He sighed as he slowly went over to the Night Fury, patting him again on the head.

"Thanks bud." He whispered before he went into the town hall, his head whirling with ideas for a tail. A tail for Toothless' freedom.

The dragon sat outside for a bit, staring at the door before slowly turning about. He walked away, saddened at not getting to hang out longer with the chiefton. But, a job was a job, and his was one of the most important. He needed to protect the people of Berk, and needed to solve issues and such. He just wished he could help.

He started off in a trot towards the Dragon Training Academy. He always liked to watch the new dragon riders learn more about their potential new friends. It reminded him slightly of when they had first created it.

It had grown a bit, so it could hold more dragons and to do it in more relative comfort. It used to be a dark small stone room, but now it had even more. There were feeds and waters and warm wool to sleep on . There was a bit of sky room so the dragons could fly about incase there was a storm and there wasn't any training. It was a lot better than it used to be.

They had also expanded the arena, upwards and outwards. There was a hole on the side so dragons could fly in and out with ease instead of getting them through the big clunky door. The hole could be closed, but it was generally kept open unless there was an emergency.

As he approached, he noted the sounds of flapping and a bit of yelling. It didn't seem like urgent yelling, so he kept his slow trot, climbing up and into the old bleachers with ancient ease that aluded to him having to do it a lot.

There were a couple of new riders in there at the moment, but it seemed like official training wasn't going. They were probably practicing extra.

One was riding a Gronkle about, but seemed to be having difficulties. Because of the Gronkle's naturally low maneuverability, the person was definitely having a difficult time. But it also didn't help that she was yanking at the poor dragon rather roughly when he would get close to wall.

Another was down on the ground with one of the smaller Terrible Terrors. They seemed to be doing some form of a practice fight with eachother. The person would throw a pebble, the Terror dodged. The dragon shot a small bit of fire, the person held up their shield. It went back and forth a bit. A couple times the person would get hit in the shoulder, but the blast was light and all it did was make them stumble slightly. And occasionally the dragon wouldn't dodge and would get hit by a pebble. The throw was light and wouldn't hurt much it seemed. It seems like they had more wins than losses, and were about equal in skill.

There was one last dragon rider, that was also practicing with their dragon. The dragon was a Monstrous Nightmare, that was practicing lighting itself on fire a bit. The rider sat on top of his dragon, and would pull some string when the dragon did it that protected him from the fire. Useful, incase the dragon suddenly lit the rider wouldn't get badly singed.

Toothless sat down to watch for a while, since he had nothing else to really do. They would get better soon, and would be the newest protectors of Berk.

Hiccup finally got a break from the many meetings and conferences that awaited him after they got back. He was only gone for an hour and the pending issues went up by twenty. It seemed like he really couldn't take a break around here.

But, he had gotten through all of them, and now had some extra time on his hands. Time he was going to put to good use.

He pulled his sketchbook out from a pocket in his pants, charcoal following suit. He spread it out on his desk, and flipped through all his sketches to a new page.

He started sketching out a tail, adding on strings that could attach to the dragon's legs. He could pull them himself, so he could guide the tail.

When Hiccup came home that night, he was grinning as broadly as could be in the jolliest of moods. Because nothing could beat the heart of an inspired inventor.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you for reading the first chapter of _Endings_! This is an already-finished 5 chapter story. I'm torn between updating Every Friday or on every Friday and Tuesday. Please let me know what you think?**

**As always, Reviews and Constructive Criticism is appreciated so this author can become a better author. I hope you enjoyed/enjoy/will enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2: Astrid

Chapter 2

Hiccup awoke early that morning, a few hours before the crack of dawn, but he didn't feel sleepy at all. He instead got on his clothes and grabbed his helping hand, before starting down the stairs.

The stairs had seen a better time, and were now creaky and old. It took all of the chiefton's will to not just jog down them and run out the door full speed. He had to stay slow and careful, so as to not awake anyone.

Step by step he took, testing each for the least squeaky spot before stepping down upon it. He thankfully got down safely, and was out the front door in the blink of an eye.

The night was moonless, so all Hiccup had to guide him was the twinkling of the stars and his own memory. His feet were quick and quiet, his helping hand out in front of him so he did not knock into objects. Dust kicked up slightly, he made his way to the old forge.

He arrived sooner than he had anticipated, but that elated him for he had more time before the village awoke. A key appeared out of his other pocket, sliding with the smallest of clangs into the rusty lock. The rider slowly pushed open the old door, closing it behind him with a tiny giggle of glee. He turned the key once again, and turned towards the forge.

The leather he normally used for Toothless' tail was in his hand in an instant, metal bands following and other straps and buckles. He spread them out on the wooden table, and got to work.

/

That morning, the townspeople noticed their chief seemed tired, but did not bother him about it because of his elated mood. He still ran his office well enough, dispatching help as efficiently as ever. So the villagers turned the other cheek, and hoped he would soon get better rest.

More and more days of working on the tail followed. He was developing better and better designs, each he hoped would be even more efficient for the Night Fury. The dragon, unaware of what Hiccup was doing, continued life as it was, wishing for the sky.

The chiefton seemed to be growing more and more weary, but his smile never left his face. Yet he never told a soul what he was joyous about. But Astrid was beginning to get worried. He was returning home earlier and earlier, yet she never heard a peep from him after. She swore she could hear feet in the night, going down the stairs and out the door. Yet every morning, she found the chief asleep in bed like a baby. It was suspicious, but who was she to judge? He was happy, and his happiness was her happiness.

The next night, five days after Hiccup had started his secret project, she had been alone in the small living room of the house. It consisted of a couple chairs and a table, and was rarely ever used since the two were so busy. With Hiccup running the island and she training new riders to the best of her ability. They barely ever got to see eachother anymore, but when they did it was always nice. They got to talk about what they had been doing and things that had happened. It was honest conversation, and it always helped, and they never really grew apart.

She was polishing one of her student's swords, since they didn't know how to do it and it was the end of the day. She had promised she would teach the young gal the next day, but wanted to get it done early. The teacher had been working on it awhile, making sure she could see her own reflection in it.

A creak on the stairs startled her, and she turned about suddenly, trying to peer through the darkness that smothered most of the house like a fog. She slowly put down the rag, readying the weapon in her head. She could clean off any blood she got on it, and it would definitely work on any house intruder. Watching and waiting, like a predator, she got out of her chair slowly, hiding behind it and away from the moon flooding in from the window. She hoped the shadow would protect her, also coupled with the glare. She waited.

Another creak followed, lower down the stairs. She would have to wait longer for the intruder. The stairs could only be seen from her position at the halfway point, and that would still only be a boot.

Yet, Astrid could be patient, all the years of training dragons could help teach patience to anyone and everyone. Even those who don't want to. Or else it would probably drive them completely mad.

And as she could tell, she wasn't bonkers yet, and she would keep that in mind as she faced down the silent intruder. Because those creaks coming down those stairs weren't her imagination, she knew her house.

A boot suddenly appeared, and she readied her weapon, ready to charge out and apprehend the criminal.

A metal prosthetic came down on the next step, and she sighed a bit to herself, putting down the weapon. It wasn't some criminal trying to steal their things, it was just Hiccup.

But what was Hiccup doing up so early? She wondered, staying in the shadow of the chair. That must be where she had heard the sounds from early in the night, she mused as he waited. She could possibly follow him to his destination, as she assumed he would be going outside, like it always seemed he did.

He was soon down the stairs, looking around suspiciously as he moved through the dark of the night. The moonlight lit him up, and Astrid noted he was dressed. That meant he wasn't just going out for a little, he was going somewhere. Her eyes narrowed as she watched him hurry across the carpet, opening the door slowly and slipping out into the dark of the night.

The door closed behind him, and she waited a little before slowly creeping towards the door. The trainer stopped and listened for a bit, hearing fading footsteps. She slowly opened up the door, closing it behind her, still in a crouch.

The retreating form of the chiefton was in front of her, and she followed after it slowly, staying in the shadows of houses and structures she passed. Her curiosity was at its peak. Where was he going? Why was he leaving so early in the morning when he could just do it in the day by clearing up his schedule?

Possible scenarios ran rampant through the teacher's mind as she stealthily followed him. He finally had stopped in front of the door of the forge, and soon disappeared inside.

Instead of following in after him through the door, she instead went to one of the many windows of it. They were locked, as always at this time. But she knew of one that the lock hadn't been replaced yet that Hiccup had showed her very long ago. Apparently Toothless had accidentally broken the lock, and Hiccup hadn't gone and fixed it yet. Even after all these years.

She slowly opened up said window, and peered inside through the slit. Light was everywhere in the forge, and she noted that Hiccup was hunched over something at the work table. His frame blocked it, and she groaned slightly in frustration. Patience won over, and she waited for him to move.

He was tinkering with something, although she couldn't really tell what. It had something to do with leather though, since she could see some detailing tools used on the hide near him. What was he making?

He finally got up and headed over to do something with a piece of iron. She took the distraction, and studied what was on the table closely.

It was a tail, one like Toothless' yet it wasn't red. It hadn't been colored at all yet, and it had a lot of straps to it, some a lot longer than they normally were. So he was making some kind of tail, but the Night Fury already had a good working tail. So what was the use of this one? She knew the dragon hadn't broken his tail yet, so it couldn't just be a quick replacement. It would have already been done by now if it was just that. No, it was something new and different, and it was making the chief very happy.

She watched for a bit longer, before resigning to the fact she wasn't going to learn much more by watching. She'd have to ask if she wanted to know what he was exactly building. So she crept off into the night, back home and into bed. She was restless, but she found herself slipping off to sleep anyways, questions unanswered hanging in her mind.

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><p><strong>AN: Tuesday and Friday Updates won the vote by one.**

**Thanks for all the reviews/follows/favorites/views. It's good to know people like it! Also thank you essey097 for the pov break suggestion!**

**As always, constructive criticism is appreciated for the author to grow and be better. Thank you for reading thus far! Hope you enjoyed!**


	3. Chapter 3: Still

Astrid awoke that morning with the sun on her eyelids glaring into her. She groaned slightly, as the lack of sleep caught up on her like a lion. She slowly rubbed her eyes and opened them, getting up with a creak of her old bones.

She cracked her neck, and stood up. Getting dressed, she headed outside. She knew what she had to do today. Thoughts and questions still spun around in her skull, not even dampened by her sleepiness. The teacher needed to k`now what was going on with the chiefton. Or it would tear her apart from the inside.

Hiccup was already up and in the living room, sipping some water as he looked out the window. Dreariness dragged his whole being down, but he still had a great smile on his face. But now she knew why that smile graced his face, unlike earlier. And she had questions about it.

She slowly sat down next to him at the table, looking out with him towards the rising sun cresting Berk's hills. It gave everything in its path an orange glow, as the people of the village first began to rise.

They were quiet for a bit, basking in the still and quiet of the dawn. Astrid took in a deep breath, trying to figure out how to word what she was going to ask of him. It was hard, because she didn't want to hurt him. With a deep breath, she started.

"What are you doing in the forge?" she asked, wincing at her own bruntness. She reminded herself that this was for his good, even though she knew it had something to do with Toothless' tail, she wanted him to tell her with his own words.

The man seemed shocked somewhat, and coughed slightly while turning towards her. The smile had dropped slightly, a bit more forced. Yet he managed to keep warmth in his voice," What are you talking about?" he asked, fidgeting slightly in his seat nervously.

She raised an eyebrow, sliding forward a bit, "You're making something in the forge. What is it."

He sighed finally, realizing that he wasn't going to be able to bluff himself out of this one. While he really wished that she could just drop it, he was glad that she wasn't so easily fooled. He would have to tell her.

"A tail for Toothless." The chiefton mumbled, staring at the table and running a finger over one of its divots.

Astrid nodded, "Why didn't you tell me? Do you not trust me?"

The man jumped slightly," No of course I trust you! I just didn't want to worry you is all."

The teacher gave him a smile, putting her hand over his," It's fine. Please just tell me next time is all."

Hiccup nodded, obviously thinking the whole thing was over, "Now I-"

His arm was suddenly yanked, and he fell into his seat in shock. The woman smiled at him lightly," We're not done talking yet dear."

Hiccup groaned slightly, cursing that he should have realized that wasn't all she wanted. He prepared himself slightly for her wrath.

"You need to stop this." She started

"Pardon?"

"The work on the tail."

"And why is that?"

"You could get hurt! That's why. You're not as young as you used to be. We aren't as young. This can't possibly be good for your health. Remember what the doctor said…"

Hiccup suddenly stood up, ripping his hand out of hers," I know what the doctor said!" he nearly shouted, body as tense as a python's. He slowly calmed down, "But this is important to me Astrid. Toothless doesn't deserve to be grounded for the rest of his life."

"But-" she stuttered, trying to find something to say.

"No buts." He walked out quickly, before she could make a sound. She found herself sitting alone at the table, wondering what the two had gotten themselves into.

Hiccup breathed in a breath of the fresh morning air, feeling his nerves slowly unwind from the small fight. He shook his head to clear it slightly, and started out towards town hall.

A thump landed next to him, and he held out his hand, feeling the Night Fury bump his head into his hand. A smile grew on his face, as he rubbed the dragon's head with his hand as they walked.

The dragon liked to walk Hiccup to the town hall before he went off and visited the Dragon Training Academy. With all the time they spent apart, it was nice to have a morning stroll without too many interruptions.

The rider seemed to be caught up in his thoughts, staring into space and letting his feet go. The Night Fury didn't mind, he had some things to think of himself.

He had heard the two's argument from the attic, and had been elated. Hiccup had been making a tail just for him? Just so he could go fly without needing him? Toothless couldn't even begin to describe the elation at being able to fly again. It was a glimmering hope, and he was going to seize it.

The dragon followed Hiccup all the way to the town hall, giddy with excitement for his own tail. He wondered how it was going to work, how he was going to control it.

But Astrid seemed quite worried about Hiccup, and that made him worry too. His rider would be careful, wouldn't he? Well, at least he hoped, even if it was about flying, Toothless loved the chiefton even more than the freedom of flight. And he didn't want to see him getting hurt over it.

What had the doctor said though? It wasn't like he could ask, but he hoped it wasn't something too bad. And with these thoughts in mind, the Night Fury started off towards the Academy, hoping to see some improvement form the recruits

The next days and nights were filled with petty squabbling between the teacher and chiefton. The still of the night broken by their arguing. It wasn't bad or violent or personal, but it still worried the dragon greatly.

Astrid was staying put on her side, she didn't want to see the man hurt from all this. It wasn't that important. What was important was his health. Cryptic mentionings of the doctor's orders followed, usually what made Hiccup angry.

But she obviously wasn't getting through to him, because it was still happening. He was disappearing into the forge and she couldn't do anything about it unless she chained him to the house. But Toothless would probably break him out and he would be off again. She was very close to doing it though, because she knew he was in pain, that his bones were finally putting up a fight.

And The Night Fury was noticing it too. He found him stranded at the bottom of the stairs on one of his returns from the forge, and had to help push him up the stairs. And it wasn't just that time, he was having to do it constantly now. He couldn't make it up or down without assistance anymore.

And neither of the two could do anything about it. Most of the town was noticing it by now, the fact that their leader was in almost constant pain. He'd fidget in his chair during important meetings and afterwards he'd have to stretch like he had done a mile. No one knew what to do, because the man was getting worse and worse. Yet he wouldn't let anyone help him, not one. This was his project and he was to do it alone.

It would seem they would have to wait out their chief.

/

Hiccup was so close to finishing the tail, he could almost taste it.

Everyone was doubting he could do it, too worried about his health to realize that this made him happy. He was happy to be able to tinker and make again after so long. Even if it caused so much pain in his bones and his heart would occasionally beat out an erratic drum, it kept him going. It gave him something to look forward to other than a warm bed during the long meetings as chiefton. He would be fine anyways, making a tail wasn't back breaking work. It may hurt a bit now, but it would end even better in the long run.

The tail only needed a paint job now. It was still the brown leathery color that it was made of.

It looked like all of Toothless' other tails, except with some additions. Long straps came from it in loops, one for his back leg, the other for his front on the side affected. If the dragon pulled his leg forward a bit, it would activate Position 1. The different combinations of leg placements may make the dragon less aerodynamic, but he would still be able to fly.

He had made a guide for the different positions and leg movements, so he could test it and make sure the right parts of the tail were working. Of course he had to test it by scrabbling around the workshop on all fours, but it worked.

He went through all the positions real quick, pulling the straps to make sure they were in working order. He didn't want to have to paint it, then have to scratch the paint because something was broken.

It was all fine though, and the rider smiled as he pulled up the paint. It wasn't really a paint, more like a stain, but it colored as well as any paint, as it shows on Toothless' old tail.

It was a black, matching the Night Fury's coloring and Hiccup got started. He didn't mind being messy as he applied coats and coats of the stain to every bit of leather.

Before he knew it, it was finished. The thing he had been working on for what felt like forever was finished. He looked over at a calendar, more like two weeks, but still.

His aching muscles and creaking bones could be ignored, for this was a time of triumph. They thought he couldn't do it, and he proved them wrong. He looked out the window to notice the first licks of dawn's fingers creeping from the crests of Berk's mountains. And with a sigh, he laid his head down on the worktable, moving the drying tail and the worksheet, putting his head in his arms. He slowly closed his eyes.

The workshop was still.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you for all the reviews/follows/favorites! It's good to know people enjoy reading the story!**

**Ha, it may sound like it's over but we still have two chapters to go! Hope you have so far enjoyed! And as always constructive criticism is appreciated so this author can become a better author.**

**SharkKohen: Tears may happen. Now, I don't know if Hiccup and Astrid canonically have kids, but here are two ways this can go down.**

**1. They do have kids and instead of forcing them to stay like Stoick did, Hiccup and Astrid let them do their own thing. So they flew off and are spreading stuff about dragons and learning and exploring. When Hiccup dies, they send a letter to find them and one of them returns to become new chief of Berk.**

**2. They decided not to have kids, or Astrid couldn't have them for some reason. In this case chiefness either goes to Astrid or to the Snotlout's line because of relation.**

**Now, hope you enjoy/enjoyed!**


	4. Chapter 4: Goodbye

Chapter 4

When Astrid woke up that morning, she was expecting a rough greeting and another fight. But that wasn't what she got, the morning was eerily still, the dragon in the attic probably not even awake yet. Sleep clung to her like a fog as she clambered out of the warm bed, wondering why it was so quiet. She got dressed rather quickly, since she didn't want to have to meet Hiccup while she was walking out the door.

She hated what was happening between them, but she couldn't do much about it. Well, she could stand down, but she wasn't doing that. She needed to put across to him how dangerous this was for his health. How this could be the final arrow in the ship that sent him to Valhallah. Yet he couldn't see her worry for what it was, genuine concern. He thought she was trying to keep him from being happy. What made him happy damaged him, almost like he was sticking his foot in a fire and getting angry when people yell at him, then claiming he was happy.

She didn't want to lose him. Not yet.

Once she was changed, she opened up the window, letting in a breeze of fresh air into the room. The smell of morning always woke her up, and she wasn't disappointed yet by it.

Feeling more refreshed and a sense that she could tackle anything the students sent at her, she turned around, and frowned.

Hiccup wasn't in bed.

She shrugged it off slightly, but she couldn't help her heart rate increasing at the thought of him missing.

He was probably downstairs already, grabbing breakfast. She groaned at that thought, she didn't want to get into a confrontation at the moment. The morning was going perfectly well enough that she didn't want to ruin it when it was just getting started. She prepared herself for one though, because she doubted the chiefton was going to listen to reason now when he didn't before.

The teacher slowly crept down the stairs, listening in to her surroundings. She didn't hear anything so far, so the coast was clear.

Her feet still went slowly though, because she didn't want to accidentally alert the old rider. What was he doing that could possibly be so quiet?

Maybe he had fallen asleep in his chair, she mused. He had done it before in his life, but he hadn't done it in quite a while, so it would be strange if he suddenly did again.

The landing was clear, and as she looked about, she realized he wasn't here.

Worry gnawed at her stomach, but she fought down the slippery feeling as she looked about. She knew she hadn't slept in, since the sun was still on the rise. She knew he didn't sleep in, because he would be in his bed. Something was going on here.

He couldn't have already left, Toothless was still above, and she could hear his soft snores. Usually the sound of the door awoke him, so it couldn't possibly be that.

Maybe he was sleeping with the dragon? No, that would hurt him too badly. The wood in the Attic wasn't exactly good for supporting your back, so he would already be whining about the pain.

That only left a couple of options. He had left for Town Hall early enough the dragon didn't follow. He could be doing anything that was early enough it didn't awake the Night Fury. But he wouldn't do that, he enjoyed the dragon's company for his walks, and would have probably gone upstairs to awake him if he was going to do that. No, it was something else.

The last conclusion she could draw was that he was still at the forgery, working on the tail. Even though she knew, he was always back in bed before she awoke, so it was strange he was still there. Maybe he was angry enough at her that he would try and avoid her at all costs?

She grumbled at the thought, but the evidence supported the theory. He probably fell asleep at the worktable or something, she'd grab him then they could both grab breakfast.

She went out into the brisk cold, the sun barely above the peaks of Berk. She looked about at the village, which was also beginning to wake up. Some people were already up, milling about to talk to others or to get to whatever job they had. With a large breath of fresh air, Astrid began towards the forgery.

The teacher kept at a brisk pace, since in her rather rush forgot a coat and was beginning to get somewhat cold in the autumn air. The exercise was beginning to help, but not enough that she didn't want to get this over with.

The forgery soon was in sight, the door seemingly locked. Whatever, she could use the window.

No one noticed as she slipped into the building, the torches still going from the previous night. Looking about, she looked everywhere for the chiefton, finally spotting him. It seemed like he had fallen asleep, Toothless' tail and a piece of paper stuck to it pushed to the side. A can of stain, closed was sat next to it, and it seemed like it had freshly been used. The man had probably finished then, since Hiccup always saved the painting and prettying for last.

Walking silently towards him, she stole a glance at the paper and tail on the table.

The teacher could wait to awake him, she wanted a glance at the things first.

The tail was already dried, a black that matched the Night Fury quite well. It had straps, that she assumed might go around his legs from what the paper showed. In charcoal, the paper demonstrated what positions that legs had to be in to get the tail into a certain position. It was a simple enough guide, but would probably be hard for the dragon to memorize. But she had a feeling that the rider would help him through it until Toothless could fly.

She smiled at the thought slightly, and decided to wake Hiccup, somewhat glad he was done. Of course she was somewhat happy for Toothless, but she was mostly glad that all of it was over. Things could go back to normal and there wouldn't be any more yelling. All though he might have been right, she was glad he wouldn't be able to hurt himself anymore.

She lightly shook his shoulder, smile gracing her face," Wake up."

He didn't respond.

With a frown, she tried again, a bit harder," Wake up."

No response, dread began to grow in her stomach. He couldn't be… No he was just really tired!

This time, she gave him a full shoulder shake," Wake UP!" she shouted.

No response. It was beginning to dawn on Astrid. She slowly reached up, and touched the man's face.

Cold. He wasn't breathing. She checked his wrist, pressing her thumb into it harshly as tears threatened to spill over her face. No no no no no…

There was no pulse. That had to be a mistake. She checked the other one as her own heartbeat quickened. Rational thinking was going out the window. He couldn't be. He was fine! He had been fine yesterday!

It also didn't have a pulse. But that wasn't registering, she threw her head into his chest and listened, hands gripping the front of his shirt ferociously. She grit her teeth and tried to listen. She just wasn't trying hard enough. He was fine!

There was nothing.

Slowly, Astrid let go of the front of his shirt, and he slumped back into the seat. She was beginning to feel numb. The sort of numb and emptiness that makes you feel like you'll never feel anything again.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, chieftain of Berk, son of the late Stoick the Vast, and one of the first dragon riders, was dead.

She sat there for a bit, trying to comprehend- to understand the situation. She had been there a while, before she walked outside. She took a deep breath of the sour morning air, and told the first person closest to her.

/

Toothless had never been to a Viking funeral, never really had the reason, so this whole experience was new to him.

Well, it was technically his first funeral ever, since dragons didn't do anything with their dead. Either they were dumped into the ocean because of the stench or they were eaten by scavenger dragons or seagulls. It was simple and final, so he had assumed the people of Berk did the same thing.

Well of course he was surprised, because they had a ritual and everything. The body was prepared nicely, and Toothless was almost convinced he was sleeping. But he knew differently, the rider was gone.

He wasn't prepared for it at all. He had assumed Hiccup would be here longer, maybe even just a bit. He felt like there should have been some warning. But they were completely blind-sided, and Toothless didn't know what to do.

Many people were crying, especially Astrid, but she was hiding it well. Her stance was as strong as any warrior's as she faced the old chieftain, but the tears still trickled down her face. Toothless felt like he should be showing some signs of sadness or grief, but he just felt empty, like something had been ripped out of his world.

Hiccup was the first person to ever show him any kindness or caring, and he kept that close to heart. He had changed him so much, even if he accidentally took off half of his tail. He didn't care about that, he cared more for the memories between the two. So much had happened, but they could always be sure that the other would be there for them through thick and thin. He loved him strongly, and he just didn't know what to do.

He cared for the others too, but not as strongly as he did Hiccup. He was his rider and brother, they could face anything arm and wing.

But now he was gone, taking everything with him.

Toothless looked away from the boat they were prepping, trying to calm himself down slightly. His rider was on that boat and they were going to set it afloat. He was going to leave him behind and they were going to hurt him.

He took a breath, trying to calm down. The emotions were new and strange, and he didn't like them at all. He tore his gaze away from the ground and looked at his rider, peacefully laying there like nothing was wrong.

He couldn't be dead, but he was. Hiccup was dead and he couldn't do anything about it. He tried to burn the image of the rider in his mind, scrutinizing every detail to commit to memory. He was never forgetting him. He wouldn't let himself.

Astrid slowly strode forward, to the front of the crowd. Villagers and old friends watched alike as she cleared her throat, wiping away her tears with one hand.

"Hiccup… There are no words for what he had done for us. Without him, we would still be fighting dragons, and we would never have the partners we have today. Without him, Berk probably wouldn't be here anymore. He has saved us more times than I can count, and I don't think any of us will ever be able to thank him enough for it." She took a deep breath, steadying herself and keeping her stance proud," He was a friend and colleague. A shoulder to cry on through the worst of days and to laugh with on the best. He was there for us, and he had the best of ideas. Contraptions and gizmos that have changed our everyday lives for the better. He may be named Hiccup, but he never really was." She nodded, turning towards the prepared boat. A whisper made it out her throat, low and unaudible yet just as crushing as any scream.

"Goodbye."

She stepped down, the only one to make a eulogy. The others were crying too hard to, and Toothless didn't blame them.

Without a word, the boat was set adrift into the salty water, heading off towards Valhallah. Arrows dipped in yak oil and set alight soon flew through the air like shooting stars. Each hitting their mark precisely.

Toothless stared at the boat as it was set aflame, the fires licking at the masts and at the sails. He didn't know what to do, all he could do was sit there while his greatest friend left him. He couldn't do anything about it, because nothing could bring back the dead.

Slowly, people filtered out of the beach, probably to go home. But the Night Fury couldn't move. Even after the flames had gone out and all remains of the ship disappeared below the surface.

He slowly looked upwards, towards the sky, to see if Hiccup had joined the stars in the sky like he always wanted to. They seemed to twinkle merrily, and maybe he had already joined Stoick, because they seemed to dance.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you for reading the story so far! We have a lot of questions so let me get through those.**

**Number one is that this is in movie only canon. So "Gift of the Night Fury" never happened.**

**Number Two is that while Hiccup and Toothless may be the same age, that doesn't mean dragons age exactly the same way humans do. Which explains Toothless' spryness.**

**Number Three, nah Hiccup, Astrid, and Toothless are the main people so they get the POV spotlight. Well not Hiccup anymore. Hard to have a point of view when you're dead.**

**I hope you enjoyed the story so far! We have one chapter left to go on Friday! Thanks for all the reviews/favorites/follows its good to know people are interested. Constructive Criticism is always appreciated. Thank you for reading so far and hope you enjoy!**


	5. Chapter 5: Gift

The dragon heard footsteps behind him, scuffing the dirt, and he turned towards the sound slowly, staring at the intruder.

Astrid stood there, something black held in her arms with a bit of paper poking out of it. He really didn't care what it was, it wasn't important. Unless it was Hiccup, but he doubted that

He was about to turn back around to stare at the water again when the teacher cleared her throat, gaining the dragon's attention once again. He turned towards her, hoping she would get the memo he wanted to be alone.

The woman stepped forward, slowly holding out the black object. He watched it impassively, a little curious. He slowly turned, getting up from his sitting position. Approaching it warily, he sniffed at it, trying to figure out what it was and why it was so important.

He detected the smell of leather, a hint of iron, and the smell of-

Hiccup.

"It's a tail." Astrid explained quietly, obviously not very comfortable, "He made it so you could fly again."

Toothless didn't know what to think of that, and Astrid slowly approached him, going towards his tail.

He didn't move, he didn't want to. Hiccup had made this for him so he could gain his freedom again. He had heard of it, and it was real.

He had killed himself making it, the dragon caused his death, it must have been it. He wasn't excited anymore. He just wanted his rider back.

Before he knew it, Astrid had slipped the tail on, the straps tightening around his tail. She moved forward with the rest, and with a few simple instructions it was on.

He stared at the tail, not sure what to think. He could fly again, but what would be the point if it was without Hiccup. It was black like his scales, blending in almost perfectly. If he tried he could imagine it was the real one.

He turned to Astrid, not sure what to express, but she was already distracted by the paper. When she saw his look, she showed him the paper. It had all the different leg positions for the tail, and he tried to pay attention, but he couldn't. It may have been from his ri- old rider, but it only reminded him more of the loss. He looked away from it as the lady turned it over.

"Not your fault." She read out loud.

Toothless perked up at this, staring at the paper like it was the answer to life the universe and everything. Hiccup knew. Somehow Hiccup knew that they would feel it would somehow be their faults. He knew them well enough to make that guess and be right on the mark.

Toothless smiled slightly at his rider, and then the frown returned. He knew this was going to kill him, didn't he. He probably didn't know when, but he knew that Astrid was right, but he continued on for him.

With a deep breath, the dragon returned his gaze to the horizon, and wondered when he'd be able to meet the man again.

/

Toothless lived the rest of his days in relative peace. He wasn't given another rider, which he was happy about. He didn't want another one, he already had the best and they could only go so far down from that.

He would watch the academy, the stars, the moons, the clouds. He almost sometimes felt like he was drifting away from this place, to where Hiccup is.

Of course he wasn't, but he could hope.

He didn't mind the slowness of his life anymore, taking it into appreciation, along with Astrid. They got through Hiccup's death together, so they would stick together.

Sometimes, he would think about flying, staring at the tail still strapped to him. But then the will immediately dropped, and he would find himself staring at the ocean again.

Astrid tried to get him to fly, but he refused. He couldn't bring himself to do it. He would open his wings, stare at the sky, and then slowly close them again. It still hurt too much, like a reopened scab being picked at constantly.

And the Night Fury never flew again.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you for reading.**


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